History lives in North Easton Village

Here's a walking tour of historic North Easton Village, which contains five buildings designed by the famous architect H.H. Richardson. All are on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Taunton Daily Gazette, Taunton, MA

Writer

Posted Aug. 15, 2011 at 12:01 AM
Updated Aug 15, 2011 at 3:17 PM

Posted Aug. 15, 2011 at 12:01 AM
Updated Aug 15, 2011 at 3:17 PM

EASTON

» Social News

Historic North Easton Village contains five buildings designed by the famous architect Henry Hobson Richardson. All are on the National Register of Historic Places.

Students of architecture and design read about Easton in college texts and visit the town to observe the buildings first-hand. For residents, though, the structures are functional: The library, the church and the Rockery that is home to Easton’s annual holiday celebration in December.

One of five buildings in North Easton designed by the famous architect H.H. Richardson, the hall was built between 1879-1881 in memory of the late U.S. Rep. Oakes Ames, who was instrumental in completion of the transcontinental railroad. Frederick Law Olmsted designed the stairway and boundary walls. The Ames family intended it to become the town hall, but instead it hosted school plays, dances and graduations, and today is rented for wedding receptions and private parties.

The town’s library, restored last year, was built between 1877 and 1879 with a $50,000 bequest from Oliver Ames, brother of Oakes. Also designed by H.H. Richardson, it opened in 1883 with 10,000 volumes. A children’s wing was built as an addition in 1931. The library features a barrel-vault ceiling in the reading room and a fireplace designed by Stanford White. A bas-relief of Ames above the hearth was designed by the artist Augustus St. Gaudens.

Old Colony Railroad Station

80 Mechanic St.

The H.H. Richardson-designed railroad station was commissioned by Frederick L. Ames in 1881 and given to the Old Colony Railroad Co. upon its completion in 1882. Patrons bought their tickets from the famous “bulls-eye ticket window.” Trains ran until the late 1950s. In 1969, the station was purchased by members of the Ames family and donated to the Easton Historical Society for use as a headquarters and museum. It is open the second Sunday of each month and by appointment.

Gate Lodge

Elm Street

The Gate Lodge was designed by H.H. Richardson as the Elm Street entrance to the Ames estate, Langwater. Built between 1880 and 1881, the lodge was designed as the weekend retreat of Frederick L. Ames. The west side is a residence that includes a fireplace designed by August S. Gaudens. The Langwater mansion is visible from Langwater Pond on Main Street. Its grounds were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. Both buildings are privately owned by the Ames family. A gardener’s cottage on the Langwater estate is another historic building designed by Richardson.

Page 2 of 2 -
Ames Shovel Works

Main and Oliver Streets

The site where Oliver Ames began his manufacture of shovels in 1803, the complex today contains about a dozen buildings modified as warehouses, the oldest of which, the original Long Shop, was built in 1852. By 1879, two-thirds of the world’s shovels were manufactured in North Easton. In 1972, the site was bought by Arnold Tofias, who donated its artifacts to Stonehill College. Voters have recently endorsed a plan to preserve the historic nature of the buildings while turning them into affordable housing.

Unity Church

9 Main St.

John Ames Mitchell designed the church, built in 1875 with financing from Oliver Ames. Stained glass windows in the transepts were designed by the artist John LaFarge. The church parsonage, to the north, was designed by Ware and Van Brunt between 1877 and 1878. Next to the church is Unity Close, 23 Main St., built in 1862 for Oliver Ames. The mansion and grounds, now restored, are privately owned.

Queset House

51 Main St.

The mansion located next to the Ames Free Library was built in the style of the architect Andrew Jackson Downing in 1854 for Oakes Angier Ames. In the 1920s, it was the home of Winthrop Ames, a Broadway producer who entertained people on grounds designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. Queset House is owned by the Ames Free Library and its gardens are being restored as a public park.

The Rockery

Main Street at Barrows Street

Frederick Law Olmsted designed the Rockery, built 1881-1884, as a public square, Civil War memorial and promenade with vistas of North Easton’s new buildings at the time, Oakes Ames Memorial Hall and the Ames Free Library. It was restored with grants beginning in 2003 and is lighted every Christmas season.